IAS Prelims GS Questions and Answers - Oct 21, 2015

ANSWER: Spain

Explanation:
- Palomares is an agricultural, fishing and tourist village on the Mediterranean Sea in Spain
- Under the agreement in principle, signed by Mr Kerry and Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo, the US will remove the soil at Palomares to a site in the US.

ANSWER: 2,3,4,5

Explanation:
- Russia, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan,Belarus are members of CSTO while Afganistan and Serbia are observeres.
- In 2006, Uzbekistan became a full participant in the CSTO; and its membership was ratified by the Uzbek parliament on 28 March 2008. It suspended its membership in 2012.
- The Collective Security Treaty Organization is an intergovernmental military alliance, acting as counterpart to the NATO alliance, which was signed on 15 May 1992.

ANSWER: NATO

Explanation:
- The Partnership for Peace (PfP) is a North Atlantic Treaty Organization(NATO) program aimed at creating trust between NATO and other states in Europe and the former Soviet Union
- It was formally launched on 10–11 January 1994 at NATO summit in Brussels, Belgium

ANSWER: NATO

Explanation:
- Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC), a post-Cold War NATO institution is a multilateral forum created to improve relations between NATO and non-NATO countries in Europe and those parts of Asia on the European periphery.
- States meet to cooperate and go to the range of political and security issues.
- It was formed on May 29, 1997 as the successor to the North Atlantic Cooperation Council (NACC)
- It works alongside the Partnership for Peace (PfP), created in 1994.

ANSWER: Only 2

Explanation:
- Switzerland is not a NATO member.
- In 1996 Switzerland joined NATO's Partnership for Peace, the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council.
- Trident Juncture exercises are the biggest military exercise conducted by alliance in past 13 years as it has mobilized around 36,000 soldiers, sailors and airmen from more than 30 countries of NATO.

ANSWER: 1,2,3,4

Explanation:
The Bohai Sea is the innermost gulf of the Yellow Sea on the coast of Northeastern and North China at 38.7000° N, 119.9000° E

Tropic of Cancer, also referred to as the Northern Tropic, is the most northerly circle of latitude on the Earth at which the Sun may appear directly overhead at its culmination.

ANSWER: Only 2

Explanation:
- MHA has initiated steps to set up a Nationwide Emergency Response System to respond to the needs of women in distress across the country.
- Department of Telecommunications has already allocated Emergency Number “112” for this system.
- The committee under chairmanship of Justice (retd.) J S Verma had recommended the setting up of a public emergency response system which will have the ability to dispatch an Emergency Response (ER) unit to respond and close the ER call

ANSWER: Only 1

Explanation:
- World's 20 largest economies, including India launched W20, an engagement grouping of women leaders, to push for gender inclusive global economic growth.
- The W20 group having 20 women leaders from G20 nations would host its first summit next month in Istanbul.
- The G20 members are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia,South - Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union.
- The presidency of the G20 rotates annually among its members and this year it is with Turkey.

ANSWER: 1,2,3,5

Explanation:
- South Korea was a founding member, but left the Group after joining the OECD in 1996.
- The Group of 77 at the United Nations is a loose coalition of developing nations
- It was designed to promote its members' collective economic interests and create an enhanced joint negotiating capacity in the United Nations.
- There were 77 founding members of the organization, but by November 2013 the organization had since expanded to 134 member countries.
- South Africa holds the Chairmanship for 2015.

ANSWER: Soumitra Choudhuri Committee

Explanation:
Government had constituted an Expert Committee under the Chairmanship of Soumitra Choudhuri to draft Auto Fuel Vision and Policy 2025.

The recommendations of committee were :

1. Reducing dependence on petrol and diesel and shifting to alternate fuels like methanol, ethanol (recommended 20% ethanol blending in petrol by 2017), hydrogen fuels etc.
2. Implementing next stage of bharat emission norms (bharat stage 4 all over India)
3. Taxing old vehicles and promoting CNG vehicles by less taxation.

ANSWER: None

Explanation:
- In the major cities, Bharat stage IV emission norms were put in place since April 2010.
- Currently, BS-IV petrol and diesel are being supplied in whole of Northern India covering Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi and parts of Rajasthan and western UP. The rest of the country has BS-III grade fuel.
From 1 April, 2016, all of Goa, Kerala, Karnataka, Telangana, Odisha, Union Territories of Daman and Diu, Dadra-Nagar-Haveli and Andaman & Nicobar will get BS-IV fuel.
- The rest of the country is scheduled to get supplies of BS-IV from 1 April, 2017.

ANSWER: Ministry of New and Renewable Energy

Explanation:
- Unnat Chulah Abhiyan (UCA) is a program of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Government of India.

Aim :

1. To develop and deploy improved biomass cook - stoves for providing cleaner cooking energy solutions in rural, semi - urban and urban areas using biomass as fuel for cooking.
2. To mitigate drudgery of women and children using traditional chulha for cooking.
3. To mitigate climate change by reducing the black carbon and other emissions resulting from burning biomass for cooking.
- Kitchens of Mid-day Meal (MDM) scheme, Aangwadis, Forest Rest Houses, Tribal Hostels and small business establishments (road side dhabas, small hotels and restaurants and a variety of cottage industries like textile dyeing, drying of spices etc.) and Individual households in rural areas are target Users.

ANSWER: Both

Explanation:
Alternative fuel:

Methanol is readily biodegradable. It is already used in racing cars of China.
Ethanol burns cleaner and burns more completely than petrol
It can be derived from Sugar cane juice and molasses.
Hydrogen Fuel is a clean fuel with highest energy content in terms of mass. Hydrogen up to 20% (by volume) can be blended with compressed natural gas (CNG) for use as an automotive fuel.

ANSWER: 2,3,4,5

Explanation:
- A biodiversity hotspot is a biogeographic region with a significant reservoir of biodiversity that is under threat from humans.
- To qualify as a biodiversity hotspot
- Region must contain at least 0.5% or 1,500 species of vascular plants as endemics
- It has to have lost at least 70% of its primary vegetation.
- Around the world, 34 areas qualify under this definition, with nine other possible candidates.
- These sites support nearly 60% of the world's plant, bird, mammal, reptile, and amphibian species, with a very high share of endemic species.

ANSWER: 1,2

Explanation:
- Sheri Khan Tarakai is in Pakistan while Rupar is in India.
- A lapis lazuli bead factory, discovered in Shortugai in Afghanistan
- Except for the site of Shortugai, where there is evidence for gold processing, most of the indicators for metal processing

ANSWER: Women in distress

Explanation:
It assures economic and social security to women, with an aim to create a supportive institutional framework catering to their primary needs in difficult circumstances.

The scheme envisages that shelter, food, clothing and health as well as economic and social security are assured for such women.

Under the scheme, 'Swadhar Greh' would be set up in every district with capacity to house 30 women.

These 'Swadhar Grehs' would enable them to regain their emotional strength and provide them with legal aid and guidance to enable them to take steps for their readjustment in family or society.